On the Henna Sooq YouTube channel, our comments are always filled with love and support from our community. Whether it is people sharing their interest in Ayurvedic hair care, or our beloved customers sharing their stories of hair care success. But occasionally, there are comments that are a bit louder than the rest. Comments that look like:
“Girl, I know your religion doesn’t show your hair to other males but show your hair! You have a brand.”
“Someone advertising hair care who keeps her hair covered. I don’t get it.”
“Yeah, keep your hair covered so no one will know anything about your hair…”
And the best one of all…
“Listen, lady. You seem well versed in herbal hair care but you’d be a lot more credible if you didn’t hide your hair all the time. For all I know, you could be bald.”
I wanted to address this topic because as a woman who wears a hijab in the hair care space, I feel the need to stand up and be the representation for a group that is very often neglected.
I understand where these comments are coming from. I am sure there is a natural curiosity to see these beautiful luscious locks when I speak about hair growth, hair health, and coloring your hair with natural herbs. However, this indicates that there is a lack of trust in someone who covers their hair. If you went to a hair salon for extensions and the hair stylist had a shaved head, would you not trust her to do your hair? Of course you would! Do you see the disconnect?
There are people all over the world who decide to cover their hair for many different reasons. Maybe it’s for religious reasons, maybe they want to protect their energy, or maybe they are even going through cancer treatments. Are all of these people not allowed to care about their hair just because they choose to cover? Of course they are. These comments are almost saying that I should be trying to be like everyone else just because of my industry. But why would we all want to be the same? That would be so boring! I chose this path when I was 17 and I am so happy that I did. But I would never once try to put that on you. I want you to be with me, not the same as me. That is how everyone should be - lifting each other up knowing we are all different and unique.
If you choose to think I am bald under my Hijab, that is your choice. While I am not bald and I don’t want to be bald, if I did want to be bald, couldn’t I be? At the end of the day, who cares! We are all in this together. It’s about understanding other people and respecting them, even when you don’t agree.
Let’s look into the bigger picture. For anyone who makes a comment like that, it’s excluding a particular woman and group of people who decide to cover their hair. That is not going to make me feel weak and want to show you my hair. In fact, it makes me even stronger in my mission - to make sure we are representing a group of women who are very rarely included in hair care conversations. My daughter is in cosmetology school and she is a hijabi too. We are making a change in the industry and that is what is most important. It’s not about the cloth on your hair.
Our customers are all the proof we need into how well our products work. You don’t need to see my results to witness the amazing benefits! Our customers are out there representing us. They don’t have to show you their hair either, but they choose to do so! I am so grateful to the women in the community who share their hair journey with us because nobody is obligated to anything - but our clients continue to show up for us.
On another note, it is important to remember that Henna and a lot of Ayurvedic Herbs come from places like Egypt, Morocco, Pakistan, the Middle East - all of these countries have people who cover their hair. Please respect the people who are involved in the process of making Henna and Ayurvedic Herbs. Remember, it’s their land that these herbs grow in and it is incredibly disrespectful to take what you accept and leave the rest.
My intention with this is not to make anyone feel bad, but it is your responsibility to be honorable with the words you say. I just wanted you to get to know me a little bit better, and see me and my mission with Henna Sooq for who I am and what we are. Henna Sooq is not just a brand. We are elevating a whole community of people who are not being represented: brown and black men and women, muslim women, and anyone who decides to cover up. To anyone who feels under represented - we got you.
At the end of the day, we want all of you to be in this community, we don’t want to exclude anyone. We do our best to be inclusive and supportive of each other, and I’m going to keep doing what I do- with a hijab on.